OCR Text |
Show i Sheriff Corless Wants Men Who Desert Families ' Taught to Labor. An agreement to try the experiment of working county prisoners ou the ; roads was reached by the county commission com-mission yesterday following a conference confer-ence with Sheriff John S. Corless. The sheriff said that at least one-third one-third of the prisoners at tho jail oould be put to work without any legal obstacles ob-stacles arising, and assured the commission com-mission that at least tweDty-five nieu . would be available daily in case the county desires to establish a chain gang j 83rstem. Last f:ill when the county commis- j sion was considering- the project, Sheriff Andrew Smith, Jr., declared it would be impossible to furnish more than six or seven prisoners for work. The prison work will be started as soon as the weather permits. It was decided to purchase a new automobile for the sheriff and to remodel his present pres-ent machine into a truck for hauling the prisoners to and from work. Sheriff Corless has conferred with juvenile court officials over a plan of working those prisoners who are serving sentences for failure to provide for their families. L'nder a state law which has never been enforced, these men may be put to work and $1 a day paid to their families by the county for their labor. It is proposed to put this law into effect. Discussing the sribject, the commissioners commis-sioners were unanimous in the belief that not only would the county profit in road-building operations by working the prisoners, but the men themselves might possibly acquire the habit of work, thereby becoming better citizens. |